In The Trial, written a century ago in 1914, Franz Kafka paints a portrait of an unimaginably oppressive government with secret laws and trials in which the individual is crushed. Today, in 2014, Kafka would not have to invent these circumstances. He could find them in real life, at the National Labor Relations Board. It’s up to the 114th Congress to keep the NLRB in check.On Friday, just before the holidays, NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin announced that he had issued complaints against McDonald’s franchised restaurants and McDonald’s USA, the parent corporation, as joint employers. Workers complained that they...

Happy National Read a Book Day! Celebrate with these essential sci-fi classics. Space, dystopian futures, robots, technology, aliens . . . what is there not to love about science fiction, a genre that stretches the imagination and offers a glimpse into what lies in a galaxy and time far, far away? Now that you've indulged on the most compelling, classic epic fantasy series, it's time to switch gears. Onward, futurists! We recruited our own POPSUGAR editors to help compile the ultimate list of geeky reads. And this week, we're showcasing the best sci-fi narratives, with all the traditional elements of...

A stretch of the Mojave Desert has been transformed by hundreds of thousands of mirrors into the largest solar power plant of its type in the world, but the milestone is being met with criticism from environmental groups concerned about the effect of solar energy on desert wildlife. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, sprawling across roughly 5 square miles of federal land near the California-Nevada border, formally opened Thursday after years of regulatory and legal tangles ranging from relocating tortoises to assessing the impact on plants. The $2.2 billion complex of three generating units, owned by NRG Energy Inc.,...

Not only are some federal employees working without knowing whether we’ll be paid, we’re also doing it without union representation on the job. -.....(The horror) So we find that Congress, besides possibly creating a new class of involuntary servitude for federal employees, has also acted to attempt to bust our union. (Seriously?)

Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz on Wednesday defended the company’s decision to support marriage equality, and told investors that if they weren’t on board, they could sell their stock and go elsewhere. Howard Schultz Last year, the Seattle-based company announced its support for legalizing same-sex marriage in Washington state, prompting opponents of the measure — notably the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage — to launch a boycott of Starbucks. At the company’s annual meeting Wednesday, shareholder Tom Strobhar described Starbucks’ first-quarter performance as disappointing, and suggested that was due in part to the boycott. “In the first fill quarter after...

India’s estimated 3,300 business schools churn out tens of thousands of management graduates each year. But only a small fraction of them are “employable,” or possess basic skills necessary to work in sectors ranging from marketing to finance, according to an unpublished study. B-School graduates are finding out the hard way. Hitesh Kumar, who completed his MBA from a business school in Allahabad, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, earlier this year, has been unable to find a job as an investment banker. ............... Aspiring Minds based its conclusions on a so-called “employability test” it conducted on 32,000 MBA graduates...

President Obama never disappoints. When the monthly unemployment rate fails to drop, forget it. What’s important is the number of jobs created. But when the rate actually does drop, forget the growth (or lack of it) in jobs. It’s the rate that matters. And don’t blame Obama for the persistence of slow economic growth and high joblessness. That’s the “new normal.” As for the millions of dropouts from the job market, that’s no big deal, hardly worth more than a passing mention. Full credit is due Obama for his role in the overthrow of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi. He was...

Horatio Alger, twist in your grave. The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country's sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance. The sense of helplessness is even reflected in this year's presidential election. Each contender offers a sense of order — and hope. Republican John McCain promises an experienced hand in a frightening time. Democrat Barack Obama promises bright and shiny change, and his large crowds believe his exhortation, "Yes, we can." Even so, a battered public seems...

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Belgian authorities on Saturday released 14 suspects detained over an alleged plot to free an al-Qaida prisoner after a court decided there was insufficient evidence to hold them for more than 24 hours, the Federal Prosecutor's office said. ADVERTISEMENT The government's Crisis Center said the investigation was not over. And Lieve Pellens, spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office, said tightened anti-terrorism measures triggered by the arrest of the suspected Islamic militants on Friday would remain in place over the holidays. "We think there is still a threat," Pellens said in a telephone interview. Police picked up the 14...

I'm completely bewildered, pissed and nauseatingly disappointed at all of us Americans in general. Here we have a movie that is slated for release on 7-4-7: July 4th, 2007, Independence Day (Big fat f*kin hint!) It is THE blockbuster movie of the summer with soaring ticket sales. So... the movie begins with an intro describing the evolution of a particular race of beings on another planet, and how like all races, they were ultimately separated by one question, whether to wield power for good or for evil.... okay familiar, right? So fast forward ahead... Two waring factions of Alien life...

The conservative politics of the Bush administration forced me to have an abortion I didn't want. Well, not literally, but let me explain. I am a 42-year-old happily married mother of two elementary-schoolers. My husband and I both work, and like many couples, we're starved for time together. One Thursday evening this past March, we managed to snag some rare couple time and, in a sudden rush of passion, I failed to insert my diaphragm.

(CNN) -- Another Baptist church in Alabama was heavily damaged by fire Saturday night, becoming the 10th house of worship burned in recent weeks, police said. .... A Lamar County Sheriff's Department dispatcher said police are still trying to determine what caused the fire at the Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church in northwest Alabama. .... "When we got there, it obviously was in the beginning stages of the fire," Johnson said. "It was coming from the middle of the church. Then the fire began to rage. Then it engulfed the whole church." ... Investigators have been trying to determine the causes...

Analysis:Cartoon row partly Danes' fault By ROLAND FLAMINIUPI Chief International CorrespondentWASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- In September, when the conservative Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed depicted as a terrorist, angry Arab ambassadors in Copenhagen requested a meeting with Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. They were demanding severe punishment of those responsible, as well as an official apology from the Danish government. Rasmussen refused to see them, arguing that the Danish government doesn't interfere with the press. By the time Rasmussen was forced to change his tune Friday demonstrators across the Islamic world were burning...

One day a florist goes to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week" The florist is pleased and leaves the shop. Next morning When the barber goes to open there is a thank you card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door. Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he goes to Pay his bill the barber again replies: "I'm sorry, I cannot accept Money from you; I'm doing community...

Sept. 28, 2005— A supernova blast 41,000 years ago started a deadly chain of events that led to the extinction of mammoths and other animals in North America, according to two scientists. If their supernova theory gains acceptance, it could explain why dozens of species on the continent became extinct 13,000 years ago. Mammoths and mastodons, both relatives of today's elephants, mysteriously died out then, as did giant ground sloths, a large-horned bison, a huge species of armadillo, saber-toothed cats, and many other animals and plants. Richard Firestone, a nuclear scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National...

The Saudi government yesterday warned that Iraq is hurtling towards disintegration and that an election planned for December is unlikely to make any difference. The government said it was delivering this bleak assessment to both the US and British administrations as a matter of urgency. Saudi fears of a break-up were voiced by Prince Saud al-Faisal, the foreign minister, in an interview with Associated Press published yesterday, and at a meeting on Thursday night with the US media, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. He said: "The impression is gradually going toward disintegration. There seems to be...

Little proof to the contrary that we are indeed in a very long, bleak tunnel. Is there any light? Then come those times when you read about a 16-year-old girl slashing the throat of a 75-year-old woman for no apparent reason, a woman who was merely walking with her husband near a Berkeley public garden and it's right next to the one about the 16-year-old kid smiling and waving and donning a bulletproof vest before shooting nine people and himself to death in a remote, poverty-stricken region of Minnesota and you can feel the numbness like a wave.

The Brothel The madam opened the brothel door to see a rather dignified, well-dressed good looking man in his late 40s or early 50s. "Can I help you?" she asked. "I want to see Yvette," the man replied. "Sir, Yvette is one of our most expensive ladies. Perhaps you would prefer someone else," said the madam. "No, I must see Yvette" was the man's reply. Just then, Yvette appeared and announced to the man that she charged $1,000 a visit. Without hesitation, the man pulled out ten one-hundred dollar bills and gave them to Yvette and they went upstairs. After...

The ten reasons to vote for President George W. Bush weigh more than the ten reasons for voting against Sen. John F. Kerry. Of course, the sum of all twenty reasons is your vote to preserve and protect our Republic. This is the most important election in our lifetime.

Judge To Hear Case For NJ Special Election Lawsuit States NJ Voters Deprived Of Constitutional Rights Sep 8, 2004 6:53 am US/EasternTRENTON, N.J. (CBS) A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Wednesday that New Jersey voters should choose Gov. James E. McGreevey's interim replacement in a special election this November. A federal lawsuit filed Aug. 16 by two Princeton lawyers charged that McGreevey's impending resignation is actually a vacancy, and that by staying in office until it is not possible to hold a special election, he is depriving voters of their constitutional rights, including due process. The filing came...

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Armed men kidnapped two Italian women working for a charity at gunpoint from their Baghdad offices along with two Iraqis, witnesses said. The two women, identified as Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, were working for the Italian charity Un Ponte Per Baghdad (Bridge to Baghdad) while the Iraqis worked for a non-governmental organisation called Intersource. Witnesses said the kidnappers drove up in three cars to the offices of the two organisations at 5 pm (1300 GMT) and seized the four hostages. In Rome, officials said Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had immediately been informed of the abduction...

McGreevey's call to FBI makes him fair gameWhen the governor sought an inquiry into an alleged Cipel extortion attempt, he invited authorities to go deeper. "It certainly could get interesting," an investigator said.By John Shiffman, Mitch Lipka and Wendy RudermanInquirer Staff Writers When Gov. McGreevey asked the FBI to investigate an alleged extortion attempt by former aide Golan Cipel, the governor invited - perhaps inadvertently - intensified federal scrutiny of his own actions.Current and former law-enforcement officials are now expected to interview McGreevey's inner circle and review schedules, phone logs, and other sensitive records - all with the governor's...

Subj: Fw: Senior Citizen I am a senior citizen. During the Clinton Administration I had an extremely good and well paying job. I took numerous vacations and had several vacation homes. Since President Bush took office, I have watched my entire life change for the worse. I lost my job. I lost my two sons in that terrible Iraqi War. I lost my home. I lost my health insurance. As a matter of fact, I lost virtually everything and became homeless. Adding insult to injury, when the authorities found me living like an animal, instead of helping me, they arrested...

NEW YORK — As a young boy, I loved the American flag. I'd lead my younger sisters in patriotic parades up and down the sidewalk, waving the flag, blowing a whistle and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance over and over until my sisters begged me to let them go back to their Easy-Bake Oven. I loved singing the national anthem. I won an essay contest on "What the Flag Means to Me." I decorated my bicycle with little American flags for a Fourth of July parade and won a prize for that too. I became an Eagle Scout and proudly...

Teleportation breaks new groundThursday 17 June 2004Physicists in Austria and the US have independently demonstrated quantum teleportation with atoms for the first time. Until now, teleportation had only ever been observed with photons. The results could represent a major step towards building a large-scale quantum computer. In quantum teleportation, the sender, normally called Alice, instantaneously transfers information about the quantum state of a particle to a receiver called Bob. The uncertainty principle means that Alice cannot know the exact state of her particle. However, another feature of quantum mechanics called "entanglement" means that she can teleport the state to Bob. Entanglement allows particles...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - At least 82 women were secretly videotaped naked or partly undressed while applying for jobs at a Los Angeles-area Hooters restaurant and changing into the chain's distinctive uniform, police said on Thursday. Detectives in the Los Angeles suburb of West Covina were interviewing the women, who range in age from 17 to 25, after seizing 180 video files from the personal computer of former Hooters manager Juan Aponte, police spokesman Rudy Lopez said. "The videos were of the women changing into and out of the Hooters uniform," Lopez said, and were taken while they applied...

SANTA FE, N.M. (Reuters) - Buckle up Fido! The city of Santa Fe may soon require pet owners to restrain their dogs, cats and ferrets in special pet seats or with seat belts while traveling in a moving vehicle. The ordinance, endorsed by the city's public safety committee, would also require that "animals in open beds of trucks and cars be tethered or restrained enough so the animal can't fly out the window," said Kate Rindy, executive director of the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, who helped develop the proposed law. Rindy said dog seat belts as well as portable...

The Sky's No Limit Homo sapiens have wanted to fly like birds for millennia. And they've been killing themselves trying for just as long. For instance, hobbyist lore holds that, between 1930 and 1961, as many as 75 "birdmen" may have leapt from planes wearing wings on their arms. About six dozen of them died. The chief problem those early winged men faced was that they had no idea what they were doing. With little understanding of wing shape, stabilization, or lift and drag, they neither flew nor lived. Now, Alban Geissler, an aircraft designer in Munich, is marketing...

Anti-Dean ad wields image of bin LadenBy Dick PolmanInquirer Staff Writer In recent days the voters of Iowa and New Hampshire have heard a provocative message: Don't trust Howard Dean with your life.The TV ad, aired repeatedly in those crucial primary states, was hardly subtle. With Osama bin Laden's face filling the screen, a narrator intoned that Americans "want a president who can face the dangers ahead... . But Howard Dean has no military or foreign policy experience. And Howard Dean just cannot compete with George Bush on foreign policy."But you'd be wrong to assume that this message...

Trial Is Ordered in Felon Voting Lawsuit Fri Dec 19, 10:16 PM By ADRIAN SAINZ, Associated Press Writer MIAMI - A federal appeals court Friday ordered a trial in a lawsuit that claims Florida's law barring felons from voting is unconstitutional because it discriminates against blacks.The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, reversing a lower court ruling dismissing the case, decided there are enough relevant facts for the case to go to trial."Our clients are going to get a full hearing on the evidence in court," said attorney Jessie Allen, who represented the plaintiffs. "We're just thrilled."Civil...

Ex-Baath Party Official Gunned Down BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen attacked two former officials of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, killing one in a hail of submachine gun fire, critically wounding another and killing her 5-year-old son, officials said Saturday.The two separate attacks in the Shiite Muslim city of Najaf appeared to be part of a series of revenge killings against local members of Saddam's regime, which brutally repressed Shiites. On Wednesday, an angry crowd lynched another Baath official accused in a 1991 crackdown against Shiites.On Friday, gunmen killed Ali Qassem al-Tamimi, the district mayor of Najaf's al-Furat neighborhood, as...

Student gun sales armed N.J. gang, authorities sayAn indictment alleges collegians were used to funnel dozens of weapons from an Ohio store to Newark.By Troy GrahamInquirer Staff Writer Federal prosecutors in New Jersey have indicted the owner of an Ohio gun store and three members of a violent Newark street gang in the first gun-trafficking case of its kind.The merchant sold guns to intermediaries, all of them students or former students at Wilberforce University, a small private school in Ohio. The students then funneled the guns to the Double ii Bloods street gang, authorities said.The case, which will...

Mugabe rails against colonialist Internet By Lester Haines Posted: 12/12/2003 at 12:10 GMT Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe has stepped up his war against Western "white racist bullies" by accusing Britain of using the Internet to destroy his country. Laughing Bob, addressing the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, asserted that information technology is dominated "by a few countries in the selfish interests of those countries which are in quest of global dominance and hegemony", the Daily Telegraph reports. He singled out Britain, the US and Canada as attempting to "challenge our sovereignty through hostile and...

LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- Here is the text of the letter Roy Disney sent to the Walt Disney Co. (DIS: news, chart, profile) board of directors on Sunday. See full story on his resignation. Mr. Michael D. Eisner, ChairmanThe Walt Disney Company500 South Buena Vista StreetBurbank, CA 91521Dear Michael,It is with deep sadness and regret that I send you this letter of resignation from the Walt Disney Company, both as Chairman of the Feature Animation Division and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.You well know that you and I have had serious differences of opinion about the...

Pamela Anderson is a Sunday school teacher Pamela Anderson has revealed that she's now working as a Sunday school teacher.The one-time Playboy centrefold, 36, says her faith in God has helped her cope with bad times in her life.Speaking on BBC1's The Hand Of God, to be screened on December 2, she said: "I'm teaching at my sons' Sunday school. It's reading the Bible, getting out jelly beans and setting the kids a good example."She added: "There have been bad times and good times and I have had religion to get me through. I think it's important as I've...

AL-QAEDA: The group's name again comes up. Experts see new organization, old violence. By Dave Montgomery and Warren P. Strobel INQUIRER FOREIGN STAFF RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - With al-Qaeda being linked to three devastating attacks in Turkey and Saudi Arabia in the last two weeks, the group appears to be leaving a new signature as an increasingly decentralized and unpredictable terrorist network that appears harder to fight.Experts and diplomats said the recent resurgence of al-Qaeda violence also showed that Osama bin Laden's 14-year-old terrorist fraternity was as lethal as ever, despite the U.S.-led war on terrorism. The organization essentially...

Reality show looks for porn stars of tomorrowBy Anthony BreznicanAssociated Press A new "reality" TV show asks the question: "Can You Be a Pornstar?"Mary Carey, the porn actress who ran for California governor in the recent recall election, is among the hosts, joining fellow adult-film stars Tabitha Stevens and Ginger Lynn.Silhouette Productions announced plans this week to shoot seven one-hour shows, and to start telecasting on In Demand Networks and other pay-per-view channels on Jan. 8.A group of 28 women will compete for a one-year contract with a major adult-video distributor and a cash prize of $100,000."It's going to...

Cosmo Says No to Sex A cheerleader of the sexual revolution has second thoughts. | 27 October 2003A few weeks ago, a chirpy researcher from a London morning show asked me to appear on a TV debate about sex, along with an older, married couple who attend “swingers parties,” a teenage twit who notoriously stripped off her shirt in public in Rhodes, Greece and was rightly arrested, and Lorraine Candy, the editor of British Cosmopolitan. My role was to “even out the debate”—in other words, to be a rabidly right-wing, “no sex, please, we’re conservative” voice, and thus discredit the...

Qadhafi: Arab nationalism is deadbySaturday 04 October 2003 10:33 PM GMT Qadhafi has long championed women's rights in the Arab world Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi gave a hard-hitting speech against fellow-Arab countries, declaring Arab nationalism dead and gone forever. “The times of Arab nationalism and unity are gone forever,” Qadhafi told an audience of women on Saturday at Syrte, east of Tripoli, AFP reported. “These ideas which mobilised the masses are only a worthless currency.”The once champion of both Arab nationalism and Pan-Africanism also called on the People's Congresses, the centre of the country's political system, to permit Libya to...

<p>WASHINGTON - On Aug. 20, 2001, Saleh Ibn Abdul Rahman Hussayen, a man who would soon be named a minister of the Saudi government and put in charge of its two holy mosques, arrived in the United States to meet with some of this country's most influential fundamentalist Sunni Muslim leaders.</p>

Bali suspect's final defence A key suspect on trial in connection with the Bali nightclub bombings last October has been giving his final defence statement. Ali Imron, the youngest of three brothers charged with the Bali attack, is accused of helping to put together the largest bomb, which exploded in a van outside the Sari nightclub. More than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, were killed in the attack. INDONESIA'S TERROR TRIALS Amrozi Sentenced to death on 7 August Convicted of providing the van and bombs used in the attacks Imam Samudra Sentenced to death on 10 September Convicted of...

Issue 11.09 - September 2003The New Diamond AgeArmed with inexpensive, mass-produced gems, two startups are launching an assault on the De Beers cartel.Next up: the computing industry.By Joshua DavisAron Weingarten brings the yellow diamond up to the stainless steel jeweler's loupe he holds against his eye. We are in Antwerp, Belgium, in Weingarten's marbled and gilded living room on the edge of the city's gem district, the center of the diamond universe. Nearly 80 percent of the world's rough and polished diamonds move through the hands of Belgian gem traders like Weingarten, a dealer who wears the thick beard...

Editorial 7/21/03By Mortimer B. Zuckerman • Editor-in-ChiefA Kremlin conversationThroughout Russian History, It Has been personal power that has made things happen. Or not. Today that power is centered on President Vladimir Putin. In a recent 2-hour-and-45-minute meeting with him at the Kremlin, it was clear to me that his power has been compounded by his persona, captured in a popular joke making the rounds in Moscow: A reader asks a gardening columnist, "Can you recommend an effective way to protect fruits and vegetables from birds?" Sure, the columnist replies: "A life-size portrait of Vladimir Putin. Displayed prominently, the birds will...

Three years for one-legged robberA one-legged robber who left his artificial limb behind at the scene of a crime has been jailed for three years.Snaresbrook Crown Court in east London heard Eric Gardner, 41, left the damning evidence following a struggle with a shopkeeper after grabbing his cash takings.Undaunted at losing his prosthetic limb, he hopped his way into a getaway car and left Ghanshyam Patel, 56, behind clutching the false leg.Gardner, of Pinley Gardens, Dagenham, Essex, admitted robbery. Mr Patel, who runs a family newsagents in Oxlow Lane, Dagenham, was targeted as he made his way to bank his...